You don’t like your bits and twinkles?

Have you seen the documentary film, The Perfect Vagina? It’s certainly not for the faint of heart. I sat through the entire thing feeling squeamish, legs crossed tight, one hand over my eyes and a little curious about the look of my own undercarriage. Why all the tension and peculiar interest? The film is about vaginal cosmetic surgery, and according to this film, it’s growing in popularity.

So what is it about the vagina that’s causing a ruckus? Ladies and gentlemen, meet the labia minora.

According to Wikipedia: The labia minora (singular: labium minus), also known as the inner labia, inner lips, or nymphae,are two flaps of skin on either side of the human vaginal opening, situated between the labia majora (outer labia, or outer lips). Inner lips vary widely in size, colour, and shape from woman to woman.

Labiaplasty (930,000 Google search results), also known as vaginal rejuvenation, labia minora contouring, labial reshaping, female genital surgery or labial reduction, is the surgical procedure of reducing the length of the inner labia or inner flaps. (I have also learned of a procedure called vaginoplasty that tightens the vagina and muscles surrounding it.)

There is one profound question one cannot help but to ask: Why?

As if we need another item on our already massive list of things to stress over, or another body part to obsess about. Why is it now a big deal if our inner flappage is a bit longer than the outer bits?

According to the film, women who want this surgery are seeking a more ‘youthful’ appearance and/or want to balance out the appearance of their labia minora with the surrounding tissue. Some women have claimed to be embarrassed of the length of their labia minora. Some say they’ve been ridiculed or teased by family members or partners. Others claim the length has caused them to have problems doing certain activities or from wearing certain clothing articles. Others say that it has caused (psychological) difficulties in the bedroom.

The influence/pressure for wanting a more ‘balanced and youthful’ appearance is said to come from the aesthetic vah-jay-jays featured in pornographic magazines and films or the skilful yet deceitful technique known as beauty magazine airbrushing. Some also blame plastic surgeons for developing such a procedure and the women who have the money to pay for it (the average cost ranges between 5,000-10,000 USD).

I also can’t help but to ponder, when did waxing and shaving become a part of our beauty routine? According to sex researcher Dr. Debra Herbenick, young women’s pubic hair has been steadily disappearing over the past decade and that younger women tend to shave it off while older women choose to wax. What happened to good old-fashioned ‘maintenance’ where we left a bit of the forest intact? Trees do look naked without leaves. Is a bit of pubic hair just not sexy anymore?

Anyways, I tried to find some statistics about large labia minora cases (also known as labia hypertrophy) and unsurprisingly could not find any solid numbers. In all honesty, I’m sure this number is huge.

But, just because your labia minora peaks out from your labia majora, does it really mean you have a problem? According to the documentary the typical size of the labia minora ranges from two to ten centimetres (0.8 to 3.9 inches). Supporting this range, a study by the Department of Gynaeology in the UK in 2004 shared the length of the labia minor of women between ages 18-50 to be 0.78 to 3.9 inches.

The fact of the matter is, the labia minora comes in varying symmetry, sizes and colours and are influenced by things such as genetics, childbirth, hormones and age.

What are the risks of the surgery?

I’ve read that some of the risks can include temporary numbness, bleeding, pigmentation changes, pain, decreased feeling in that area, asymmetry between the inner and outer labia, excess scar tissue buildup (that can appear as lumps), hematoma (broken blood vessels or blood clot), puckering of the skin and sexual dysfunction. It is also important to note that there has not been any substantial findings or research as to the long-term consequences of such a surgery.

If you really love me, don’t you also love my dangles and bobs?

What exactly is the idea of the perfect vagina anyway? Not too tight? Not too baggy? Or in the words of this film “hairless, neat, pink and tucked-in”? If you ask me, the perfect vagina is a myth.

I asked ten random guys ages 25-35, if they thought the size of the labia minora matters. Here are their responses:

1. “It does not matter. What’s important to me are a woman’s curves.”

2. “I don’t think this matters. I don’t think men are that fussy.”

3. “For me it doesn’t matter at all. I actually think it’s quite sexy if you can see them.”

4. “I think it’s a total misunderstanding that any female would get this surgery. I think it’s a total minority of guys that would wish this for a woman. This part of the body is like the ears, it’s a part you cannot judge by prettiness and it doesn’t make sense to me to alter it. This type of surgery, if done just for looks, is a waste of money. Genetically we are coded to be turned on by a woman’s vagina pretty much however it looks.”

5. “All labia minora are created equal.”

6. “I for one, don’t care at all.”

7. “I’d much prefer that she is comfortable with herself versus being neurotically insecure enough to get surgery.”

8. “I don’t think vaginas were meant to look ‘pretty’.”

9. “Couldn’t give a damn.”

10. “I’m sure a guy is just happy to be there.”

There we have it.

Perhaps we should stop reading/watching so much porn, stop perusing beauty magazines and comparing our vaginas. We could also save ourselves a lot of pain and/or money by bringing pubic hair back. 🙂

Making love, looking good, feeling great about who you are doesn’t involve being what someone else thinks you ‘should’ be. Of course it’s a person’s own choice to have this type of surgery or not, but no matter what, a little more self-love couldn’t hurt. It’s not always easy, but a little bit goes a hell of a long way.

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Luring the magic of what is natural back into our daily lives, Tanya Markul is a freer of creativity, of inner beauty + power, and an enthusiastic igniter of the wild spirit! She re-writing the wild flower sutras, and offers a refreshing & badass view on spirituality, wellness & authentic living. Sensitivity is her tree trunk, flower stem, and nucleus. It is her belly, and her heart. Tanya is an artist of life, a faery of trees, a wanderer of the dark, a writer of heart, a misfit yogini, and an Urban Priestess apprentice. She believes in the power of your personal weird, quirky, magic, and that only path toward inner freedom & light, is through the dark — eyes closed, heart open. Tanya is the creator of The Urban Howl, Yoga Write Now & Waking Wild. Join her free forum for monthly yoga & writing practices here. Join her free forum for 30 days of exercise for 30 days here. Join her on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter & get her free weekly & quirky newsletter here.

Tanya, I agree with you completely – when did waxing and shaving become a part of our beauty routine? It costs money, time and pain!! It’s also killing my brain cell to make conversation with the lady who gives me the treatment. It’s so uncomfortable.

LOL, can honestly say this is nothing I've ever, ever thought about. A vagina is a vagina is a vagina — isn't it? At least that's how I've always thought about mine.

This whole obsession with the way they look though is just another Hollywood way to still keep women down and worrying about stupid things like what their vagina looks like instead of how successful their career is or how happy their family. Sorry, but it's crazy and women who do it want their heads examining.

Thanks for the article. My only two quibbles: as a women's health care provider, I can tell you that pubic hair started disappearing about 20 years ago. The other issue is about the author's comment,"What happened to good old-fashioned ‘maintenance’ where we left a bit of the forest intact? Trees do look naked without leaves. Is a bit of pubic hair just not sexy anymore?" I would ask, what happened to just leaving your pubic hair completely natural? Why just "a bit"? The general cultural disgust with pubic hair is still relayed by the feeling that there's a need to only have a little bit. Let's get over our fear of pubic hair. Furry is fine!

Well, I must say, as a man, at 26 now, I have always found the natural vagina, with the nice thick labia, sexy. I have seen where some people have called them "roast beef", "bacon strips", etc, and it was mostly women saying it, it seems to be yet another way to bully women into thinking they aren't adequate enough. you could have A cups or DDDs (yes I know there is bigger, I never know what the highest is anymore as this same reasoning as above keeps pushing that letter higher) You could have no labia at all, everything tucked in, you could have them 5 inches or longer, to the point you need to fold them up, either way, I, and most of the guys I've seen comment on photos before, enjoy it either way. The female body, including the vagina, in it's natural form, is a work of art. Stop butchering them, we don't like it! We like it the way it is!

I personally LIke… no LOVE a woman with Public Hair! the best vulvas still are covered evenly anbout an inch to 2inches deep. is it possible to have too much hair down there yes. but having none at all is accually a turn off. the basic thing I will tell you is i prefer brunettesor red heads. with long haire onthe heads and hair down there when it comes to groming I would like you to heep it in side a normal pair of panties and not splilling over on to the thighs or aproaching the navel. if you look like the woman reading the sitting the with her body half covered… you are perfect down there. If you do not well i would still love you. but i would beg you on my hands and knees to stop shaving. i may even hige every razor from you to prevent shaving. BTW girls who sit and read with no pants on are one of the bigest turnons to me. so please indulge me !

Quibbler's implication is correct. This conversation is not about women's Vaginas. That aside , everyone is slowly being driven insane with insecurity and anxiety about their genitals because of PORN. Everyone currently anxious about their genitals should watch re-runs of the muppet movies over and over again until the anxiety has passed and we can all laugh about what an asinine conversation and fixation this is.

Those responses of men were complelty fake. They could have been taked to and were described how bad it is just to influence their answer or had picked only men that say they didnt care. Truthfully I know MANY men that do care about this and find it disgusting to have one longer than the other. I wish this was more real and less sugar coated just to convince me not to get the surgery. This in-fact just made me want to get it more because I feel like this does matter to men and it should be acceptable because societies standards require women to be perfect and thats exactly what I will do then because they dont really care about us.

I feel so sorry for those women out there, that want to have this type surgery …either because they are stupid, they have money and don't know what to do with it, make more rich these people who does it , and or they are stupidly insecure!!!

I have seen this article posted many times and I have always wanted to comment but never got a chance. I represent Mark Scheinberg, MD, FACOG, DABOG, a cosmetic gynecologist who is a pioneer in these vaginal procedures. He's also been a top OB/Gyn for the past almost 40 years. I can say with all honesty that these procedures, if done correctly by a properly trained surgeon, really make the difference in women's lives. Every day, Dr. Scheinberg see's patients that have extremely irregular labia (I urge you to visit his website and look at the photos). Many of them, have very abnormal bulging, pinching, infections, irregular skin, skin that gets caught during sex, and more. Dr. Scheinberg also lectures directly on behalf of The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG). Their view is that yes, every vagina and labia are normal,and they do not push any procedures on women, but so many women are plagued with extreme irregularities and it will be hard press to find statistics on this because it's such a private topic. How many women are going to go around telling people they have irregular labia? Not very many. Even Dr. Scheinberg's patients are extremely cautious when coming to the office, and some even hide these procedures from their friends, family, and even spouses. The scary part is that so many doctors can take a weekend course to learn how to perform these surgeries and that is absolutely insufficient training to be able to these procedures correctly. Thus, many women get poorly done work, and basic labial amputations (some even by extremely well heard of doctors on hit TV plastic surgery TV shows). My point in writing this is, no one can tell a woman what is normal; they have to decide for themselves. Especially if it effects their confidence or their sex life.

with all due respect “bluelagoongirl” WOMEN and so called sex researchers and media have been telling MEN what is so called normal or average in regards to penis size,Not to mention the endless,disgusting,hurtful obsurb penis size studies..where kinsey and the rest of these quacks want to cull men into labs and measure their penises like a bunch of cattle.Do you find that odd.Is that not misandry and a horrible thing to do to guys?

I suspect that heterosexual men are thinking about vagina somewhere between 95-99% of the time. True, occasionally we can focus our attention elsewhere, but that hardly sounds like something men consider to be "ugly." In fact, it sounds much more like "irresistible." And nothing is more sensual to a hetero man– the sight, the scent, the feel against our fingertips, lips, and tongues, the sound of wet lips being softy stroked– nothing is more beautiful, nothing is more alluring, than the labia minora. Women, if somebody tries to tell you otherwise, it is that person, and not you, who has a problem.

In her book The Sexual Practices of Quodoushka, Teachings from the Nagual Tradition, Amara Charles details that there are 9 different types of female genitalia of all different shapes and sizes. From a quick glance at the pictures, the least common is the type described by the movie. If you are considering this kind of surgery, I urge you to do a Quodoushka workshop first. It utterly changed my relationship with my vagina and my body. And by the way, I am so very done with all the attempts to make women tiny – in every way. Are we supposed to just disappear next?

I love the comments by the men!!! Women are the only ones who don't love their private parts.But hey, there is always someone ready to take your money and promise you happiness and "perfection". .All the men I've spoken to about this loveeeeeeee women with large full lips and a labia that peeks thru or a large clitoris. Hairy and natural is a matter of choice and easy enough to change from one to the other. It would be a huge advancement if women could be less critical of their bodies then men are. Why are we are toughest critics???? A little more self acceptance, a lot less self hate. Soft natural breasts of whatever size have got to be more beautiful than anything ever manufactured in a silicone plant…..Viva la difference, thank god we come in all shapes and sizes…What a sad boring world it would be if we were all cookie cutter.

I sure could have used this a week ago!!! I have been ashamed of my "girlie" parts for years!! I had finely come to terms with them until I was listening to a Dane Cook stand up comedy routine with my boyfriend (whom I had just started dating at the time)! In it he's joking about meeting a girl and having sex with her for the first time…he talks about how relieved he is if he gets down below and everything is neat, tucked in and pretty…not all hanging down!!! I was completely mortified! I became flushed and sweaty and my boyfriend asked me what was wrong…he could tell it made me very uncomfortable!!! Since then I have spent countless hours on the internet trying to figure what men thought was attractive. I found several comments where the inner labia were referred to as "meat curtains" or "roast beef" and not attractive! I had my labiaplasty yesterday!! While driving to the hospital I received a text from my boyfriend. He told me he loved me just the way I am!!! I have mixed emotions today! Of course there is healing that needs to take place but it looks great! But if I was being completely honest I would say I have some remorse! I am 48 years old and I have lived with those large lips for a long time! I hate that I let myself be so influenced by what the media wants us to think is beautiful!!! What's next??? After this, what are we going to find to be unhappy with!!!

Thanks so much for this story!!! Like i said, I would have given anything to find something like this a week ago!!! Hopefully it will bring comfort and acceptance to someone else struggling with this issue!!!

Labia minora that are long, assymetrical, or a complex shape are extremely sexy. I unequivocally prefer this to perfectly symmetrical and somewhat hidden inner labia.

This all feels like oversharing to me, but it seems like a lot of women may be misunderstanding this subject a bit: it’s Very Sexy when there’s something there and it’s an unusual, organic shape. It’s a positive. Do you see?

Some women have been made to feel “unpretty” by their intimate partners. Sometimes surgery is to address dysfunction due to trauma from prior experiences. No woman seeking or advocating for their own healthcare is stupid. If you perceive yourself to be flawed. .it impacts intimacy. Even if geometry is corrected..emotionally you have to love yourself to let go of fears of inadequacy. If you love her…or him…don’t judge by parts…measure the heart.

I love that you are addressing this issue….it's all about confidence and liking your own sh**….you could have a really f up tw** but if you love it like nobody's business so will anyone else that you share it with. Self love people.

unfortunately all too often I've heard men call some of these meat curtains and make other disparaging remarks about women they've been with. As a woman who also has this issue I can tell you that sometimes its very uncomfortable with pulling and tugging if not set right in the underwear and almost having to adjust yourself like a man would so I can understand the desire to have surgery for some women.

I will concede that surgery is 95% profit. However, I can’t help but notice that all of the other criticisms of the procedure could apply equally to make-up. I seriously doubt that everyone here is practicing what they preach when they say you’re just fine without any cosmetic enhancement. But as for waxing & shaving, it just exposes the hair follicle to infections and stimulates the growth of bacteria. Who wants to eat that?

Loved this article, thank you! I had insecurities around my vagina from a young age, my father used to joke about my labia and tell people he thought I was a boy when he first saw me as a baby. He used to tell my mom she had leg warmers and goulash for lips. Started watching porn to see how I compared and to see if I did have an ugly vagina! Have realised I let my dad skew my perception and as a result I saw ugliness where there is in fact beauty. We are all different and so are our genitals. And if someone truly cares about you, they will accept each part of you and not judge you based on the length and colour of your labia! Vaginal rejuvenation is a money making scheme and unnecessary full stop. Who decided what makes a vagina 'attractive' in any case?!